The Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Don Carlos Osoro, ordained Ignacio Rubio Hípola, LC, as a deacon on July 15th, at the parish of Santa María de Caná, in Pozuelo de Alarcón. The Madrid prelate, in his homily, offered several pieces of advice to the new Legionary of Christ deacon, explaining that his ministry should be “a life in service of others”; where his words “must be what you live”; where, as “consecrated by the Lord from the beginning, (…) your way of serving must be like in the Last Supper: washing others’ feet”; and where the measure is the measure of Christ: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ordination was attended by a limited congregation, including Ignacio’s family, who have been connected to Regnum Christi since its beginnings in Madrid, and a large representation of the Regnum Christi family: Legionary priests from all over Spain, consecrated women, consecrated laypeople, and lay members. Among them were the outgoing territorial director of the Legionaries of Christ, P. Carlos Zancajo, and the incoming, P. Javier Cereceda. Also present was P. Valentin Gögele, LC, territorial director of the congregation in Western and Central Europe, the territory to which P. Ignacio Rubio has been assigned, along with a delegation of consecrated women and laypeople from Germany with whom P. Ignacio will share mission. Also friends from Rome and Betty Rivera, the new territorial director of the consecrated women of Regnum Christi in Spain, recently arrived from the Philippines.
“You are not here by chance”
In his homily, Cardinal Osoro reminded everyone that “we are all members of the Church, of a Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not here on our own, we are not here by chance.” And the reality is that “the Lord has used many circumstances to make us participants in being members of His people. A people that has a mission, in which there are people like Ignacio, whom the Lord has chosen from eternity and for service, to serve others, to forget oneself.”
The gift of serving others
“Before becoming a priest,” explained Cardinal Osoro to the new deacon, “the Lord gives you this diaconate so you know that your life is service, your life is a carpet for others, don’t make your life an elevation and put yourself at the service of all men.” A period of diaconate that will conclude on April 24, 2021, in Rome, when he will be ordained a priest along with the other legionary deacons who are ordained during this year.
P. Ignacio Rubio, Regnum Christi, and the parish of Caná
At the end of the ceremony, the pastor of Santa María de Caná, Don Jesús Higueras, also spoke, saying he found it “very providential that Ignacio is being ordained here, since Javier (his father), 25 years ago, when we are celebrating right now, presented himself and offered himself to the diocese, and curiously, he is the engineer who signed the project so that this parish community could operate.” He continued: “I remember asking God to bless your family. And it’s clear that He has blessed it with this wonderful vocation.”
A relationship that P. Ignacio himself commented on days before his ordination: “I am very happy and grateful that the ordination can take place at the parish of Santa María de Caná.” “This parish has a lot, a lot to do with my vocation because it is my family’s parish since it was inaugurated 25 years ago, and I started as an altar boy with Don Jesús Higueras, the pastor, when I was 4 or 5 years old…”
Regarding the connection with Santa María de Caná and Regnum Christi, the parish priest expressed “gratitude for the presence over these years and the communion that has existed between this parish and the Legionaries of Christ, the consecrated women… with all of Regnum Christi: since we have interacted and worked many times. (…) There is perfect harmony and communion.”
“May the Lord guide my life”
For P. Ignacio Rubio, this moment is about “giving the baton to the Lord so He can direct my life for the service of others. That He takes possession of me to serve. It’s like the end of a path of preparation where you realize you will never be fully prepared, but that God will be faithful. He continues to choose me every day, and I also choose Him. The Lord’s fidelity over these years guarantees that I can trust in Him, and that I can place in His hands the people He puts in my life to serve them.”
